George  Washington  Flowers 
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SPEECH 


OF  THE 


REV.  DR.  BELLOWS, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE 


UNITED  STATES  SANITARY  COMMISSION, 

MADE  AT  THE 


ACADEMY  OF  MUSIC,  PHILADELPHIA. 


Tuesday  Evening,  Feb.  24,  1863. 


Philadelphia  Agency  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission, 
1307  Chestnut  Street. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

C.  SHERMAN,  SON  & CO.,  PRINTERS. 


1 8 6 3. 


I 


- 


INTRODUCTION. 


Rev.  Dr.  Bellows,  President  of  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission,  addressed  a large  number  of  the  citizens  of  Phi- 
ladelphia, at  the  Academy  of  Music,  Tuesday  evening,  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1863,  in  explanation  of  the  operations  of  that  Com- 
mission, over  which  he  so  ably  presides,  and  which  has  earned 
the  praise  of  every  loyal  man  in  the  Union,  and  obtained  the 
approval  of  every  friend  of  humanity  throughout  the  world. 

On  this  occasion,  the  first  discourse  delivered  in  this  city 
by  Dr.  Bellows  in  reference  to  the  Commission,  His  Honor, 
Alexander  Henry,  Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  presided.  The 
Mayor  introduced  Dr.  Bellows,  in  the  following  remarks  : 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  We  have  assembled  this  evening 
to  listen  to  the  narrative  of  a scheme  of  benevolence,  that 
in  the  grandeur  of  its  purpose  has  rarely  been  equalled,  and 
in  the  vastness  of  its  sphere  has  never  been  surpassed,  in  the 
world’s  history.  [Applause.]  That  narrative  needs  no  com- 
mendation to  your  attentive  ear.  Its  sphere  is  that  of  pour- 
ing in  oil  and  wine,  to  bind  up  the  wounds  of  those  who  have 
fallen  by  the  wayside  on  the  great  highway  that  alone  leads 


4 


to  our  national  safety  and  honor.  It  will  be  told  to  you  by 
one  whose  eloquence  is  only  exceeded  by  the  earnestness,  the 
humanity,  and  the  ripe  intellect,  that  have  placed  him  in  the 
foremost  among  the  laborers  in  this  great  enterprise  of  mercy 
and  of  patriotism.  I have  the  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Bellows,  President  of  the  United  States  Sani- 
tary Commission.  [Applause.] 


SPEECH. 


Mr.  Mayor,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

I AM  embarrassed  in  taking  my  stand  in  the  midst  of  this 
splendid  assemblage,  not  by  any  expectations  on  your  part 
that  I am  to  indulge  at  this  time  in  any  flights  of  eloquence, 
— for  this  I need  not  say,  you  have  abundant  opportunities  of 
hearing  from  your  own  citizens, — your  eloquent  Mayor,  and 
your  patriotic  Governor,  to  whose  honied  lips  I myself  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  listening  since  I came  to  Philadelphia, 
and  from  other  citizens  in  this  fair  city,  equally  famed  I may 
say  for  its  science,  literature,  and  its  taste,  but  I am  embar- 
rassed by  the  greatness  of  the  theme  which  I here  undertake 
to  treat,  embarrassed  even  by  your  sensibilities  which  I know 
surround  my  subject. 

I rejoice  that  I am  not  called  on  to  inflame,  but  rather 
to  assuage  them.  I know  that  all  the  rhetoric  proper  to  an 
occasion  like  this,  lives  and  moves  in  your  own  hearts ; it  is 
manifested  in  the  sympathies  of  every  woman  in  the  land,  in 
the  feelings  of  every  father  who  has  a son  a soldier  in  the 
front ; in  the  thoughts,  emotions,  and  affections  of  every 
sister,  of  every  brother,  of  every  mother,  and  of  every  patriot 
of  either  sex  in  this  assembly,  and  throughout  the  whole  land. 
It  is  for  me,  therefore,  trusting  entirely  to  that  sympathy 
and  that  sensibility,  which  already  exists  in  your  minds  and 


6 


hearts,  to  confine  myself,  as  far  as  possible,  to  a simple 
narrative,  designed  rather  to  convey  that  kind  of  instruction 
which  my  own  official  position  enables  me  to  offer  you,  than 
anything  else. 

I am  glad  that  I am  here  not  to  advocate  any  forlorn 
cause,  or  to  seek  to  invite  your  confidence  in  an  enterprise 
towards  which  your  affections  are  already  slack  or  cold.  I 
know,  on  the  contrary,  that  so  far  as  that  ministry  which  I 
have  the  honor  here  to  represent, — so  far  as  that  institution, 
the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  is  concerned, — the 
probabilities  are  that  you  have  all  had  an  exaggerated  esti- 
mate of  its  usefulness  rather  than  the  reverse.  I am  not 
here,  therefore,  to  plead  with  any  particular  earnestness,  a 
cause  towards  which  you  are  indifferent.  I am  simply  here  for 
the  purpose  of  telling  you,  with  some  authority,  what  it  has 
done,  and  how  it  does  its  work  ; not  how  much  it  has  done,  but 
how  it  works  a silent  return  for  the  contributions  to  the  cause 
which  Philadelphia  has  given.  Has  she  not  given  $70,000 
already  to  the  general  treasury  of  the  cause  ? and  has  she 
not  in  a thousand  other  ways,  not  immediately  acting  through 
us,  but  through  her  own  local  methods,  contributed  to  the  work 
of  mercy  ? To-day  I have  been  mostly  employed  in  visiting, 
under  the  kind  guidance  of  a citizen  of  yours, — one  who  has 
distinguished  himself  alike  in  this  service  of  mercy,  and  in 
his  support  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  more  latterly 
by  supplying  the  public  with  certain  views,  “ How  a free 
people  can  conduct  a long  war,”  [Applause] — who  has  done 
as  much  as  any  loyal  man  of  the  land  to  encourage  and 
strengthen  the  public  heart, — under  the  kind  and  skilful 
guidance,  I say,  of  this  gentleman,  I have  been  this  morning 
visiting  those  scenes  of  mercy  and  usefulness  which  the  local 
zeal,  industry,  and  energy  of  this  community  have  adopted, 


7 


to  testify  its  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
soldier,  and  not  only  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldier,  but  of 
the  tired  soldier  and  the  hungry  soldier,  who,  when  he  reaches 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  finds  it  a friendly  city  and  a wel- 
come home,  and  its  citizens  anxious  to  heap  upon  him  all 
sorts  of  luxury,  devotion,  and  gratitude.  Those  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  soldiers  whom  you  have  fed  in  your 
Volunteer  Refreshment  Room, — these  and  others  whom  you 
have  received  on  their  way  back  from  the  wars,  and  tended 
in  your  temporary  hospitals, — no  doubt  every  man  of  them 
having  the  stamp  of  this  city  on  his  heart,' — all  testify  that 
you  have  done  everything  in  your  power,  to  assure  the  sol- 
dier of  your  ardent  sympathy  and  entire  and  perfect  devo- 
tion. I doubt,  indeed,  whether  any  city  in  the  country  has 
had  so  great  an  opportunity  as  you  have  had,  to  testify  this 
spirit  of  gratitude  and  devotion  to  the  loyal  soldier.  You 
have  been  nearer  to  the  seat  of  war,  and  more  directly  in 
contact  with  the  great  highway  to  the  army.  Every  soldier 
almost  who  has  been  to  the  war,  at  least  in  the  Eastern  De- 
partment, has  been  obliged  to  cross  your  threshold.  Here 
he  meets  his  first  welcome.  Your  men  and  women,  your 
workingmen  and  professional  men,  people  of  all  classes,  have 
hastened  to  give  him  God  speed, — not  merely  to  say  to  him, 
“Be  ye  fed,”  “Be  ye  warm,” — but  to  fill  him  and  warm 
him,  and  send  him  rejoicing  on  his  way. 

The  object  I have  before  me  more  particularly  at  this 
time,  is  to  explain  in  some  detail  the  operations  of  that  Com- 
mission over  which  I have  the  honor  to  preside, — an  honor 
which  I fully  appreciate  and  value, — and  I wish  here  to  say 
how  small  a part  belongs  to  me  of  the  credit  of  placing  this 
Commission  in  a position  of  so  much  usefulness  ; how  nume- 
rous and  admirable  have  been  the  co-workers  assembled  about 


8 


this  cause ; how  fortunate  we  have  been  in  securing  men  of 
loyalty,  fidelity,  and  skill,  to  aid  us  in  this  work ; how  we 
have  not  been  obliged  to  put  up  with  eye-servants,  but  have 
been  able  to  secure  the  services,  again  and  again,  of  men  who 
have  filled  the  most  important  offices  in  civil  life,  but  who  at 
the  call  of  duty,  took  upon  themselves  the  work  of  this  Com- 
mission, than  which  no  work  was  ever  before  so  blessed  in  the 
devotion,  ability,  and  skill  of  those  whose  sympathies,  intel- 
lects, and  affections  have  been  contributed  to  its  patriotic  and 
philanthropic  service. 

When  I speak  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  therefore,  I 
speak  of  a work  that  has  had  the  sympathy  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  men  and  women ; which  has  been  under  the 
guidance  and  direction  in  a large  part  of  the  whole  civil  medi- 
cal practice  in  this  country ; which  has  been  able  to  gather 
about  it  all  the  leading  spirits  in  every  great  community,  and 
the  aid  and  support  of  the  people  of  every  loyal  State  in  the 
Union,  of  all  its  cities  and  its  villages ; which  has  been  ena- 
bled to  concentrate  as  in  a burning  focus,  the  affections,  the 
understandings,  the  counsel,  and  the  advice  of  the  loyal  and 
devoted  people  of  the  land. 

When  this  war  began,  the  care  of  our  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers  was,  of  course,  in  the  hands  of  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  United  States  Army.  That  department  con- 
sisted at  that  time  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  excellent  sur- 
geons and  assistant  surgeons,  who  had  been  in  charge  of  our 
military  establishment  of  20,000  men.  It  was  an  admirable  de- 
partment, strong  from  the  knowledge  gained  in  previous  wars, 
during  which  there  had  been  accumulated  valuable  statistics. 
But  what  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  medical  men  ? What 
was  the  medical  staff  of  the  United  States  Army,  when  com- 
pared with  the  exigencies  into  which  the  country  was  then  flung? 


9 


when  not  merely  75,000  men  were  called  out,  but  250,000 
more,  then  250,000  more,  and  then  250,000  more,  till  our  army 
was  expanded  to  800,000  men?  And  how  was  the  medical 
staff  to  be  recruited  ? Of  course,  it  had  to  be  recruited  from 
the  civil  medical  service  of  the  country.  Just  as  the  military 
arm  had  to  be  recruited  from  volunteers,  generally  unskilled 
and  untaught  in  military  arts,  so  the  medical  department  had 
to  be  recruited  from  the  civil  medical  service.  Now  you  will 
understand  what  our  difficulties  were  in  a military  point  of 
view.  Those  difficulties  have  not  been  mainly  due  to  a want 
of  professional  skill  in  our  generals,  or  to  the  military  defects 
of  the  regular  army  of  this  country,  which  in  most  respects, 
I doubt  not,  equals  any  military  service  on  the  globe  [Ap- 
plause], but  to  the  fact  that  it  has  been  compelled  to  be  re- 
cruited by  a class  of  men,  not  lacking  courage,  patriotism,  or 
manly  qualities,  not  unfit  to  claim  the  peerage  in  intelligence, 
zeal,  and  endurance  with  any  regulars,  but  because  of  their 
inevitable  unskilfulness  in  military  arts,  due  to  that  long- 
continued  peace  with  which  our  country  was  blessed.  We 
had  at  once,  therefore,  to  extemporize  an  enormous  army, 
and  extemporize  the  officers  in  that  army.  The  wonder  is 
with  me,  not  that  we  have  not  done  more,  but  that  we  have 
been  able  to  accomplish,  in  spite  of  all  misgivings  and  criti- 
cisms, in  the  period  of  time  in  which  we  have  been  engaged, 
more  than  any  power  on  the  face  of  the  earth  could  have  ac- 
complished in  the  same  period  of  time.  You  must  under- 
stand that  our  medical  men  were  in  the  precise  condition  of 
our  military  men  ; unskilled  in  the  arts  of  military  life,  and  of 
medico-military  practice.  Now  everybody  knows  that  an 
army  must  be  subjected  to  the  discipline  of  rigid  machinery ; 
a state  of  things  upon  which  we  have  looked  up  to  this  time 
with  a kind  of  jealousy.  And  now  I am  almost  ready  to  say, 


10 


in  the  face  of  a general  revei'se  of  opinion,  that  our  army  has 
not  been  so  much  lacking  in  leadership,  as  it  has  been  lack- 
ing in  those  details  of  discipline  and  soldierly  subordination, 
'which  are  necessary  for  the  organizing  of  a great  military 
power  in  such  a manner,  that  under  the  lead  of  a few  persons, 
a vast  body  of  men  may  be  hurled  as  one  man  and  one  soul, 
at  the  bidding  of  one  great  leading  mind,  against  the  enemy. 
Soldiers  are  not  to  be  extemporized.  They  may  be  called 
out  in  a day,  but  it  will  take  a considerable  length  of  time 
before  they  become  soldiers. 

A soldier  is  a man  who  has  not  merely  a willingness  to 
obey,  but  a habit  of  obedience, — one  trained  and  disciplined, 
not  by  tactics,  but  by  time  and  experience,  in  the  character 
and  qualities  of  mind  that  make  him  in  his  very  blood  and 
bones  like  a machine. 

Now  in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  army,  this  is  just  as 
essential  as  in  any  other  department.  All  the  difficulties 
connected  with  the  treatment  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  are 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  Medical  Department  of  the  United 
States  Army,  while  it  has  enjoyed  the  very  best  ability  of  the 
civil  medical  service  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  neverthe- 
less, in  a military  point  of  view,  was  necessarily  diluted  by 
the  addition  of  8000  medical  men,  with  great  hearts  in  their 
bosoms,  and  great  determination  and  devotion  to  duty,  but 
without  that  particular  knowledge  of  all  the  regulations  and 
details  of  army  life,  that  render  them  able  first  to  understand, 
then  to  carry  out  the  wise  and  admirable  regulations  al- 
ready subsisting  in  the  medical  service  of  the  United  States. 
Can  you  wonder  that  under  these  circumstances,  we  have  had 
a thousand  defects  to  contend  with  in  the  administration  and 
application  of  those  rich  means,  which  the  Government  has 
supplied  to  meet  the  wants  of  our  sick  and  wounded  men  ? 


11 


Can  you  wonder  at  the  failures  and  defects,  belonging  in  part 
to  the  nature  of  war,  which  have  in  some  measure  attended 
our  operations  ? What  less  can  you  expect,  when  it  is  a part 
of  the  strategy  of  an  enemy  constantly  to  baffle  all  the  ex- 
pectations of  his  opponent.  When  he  knows  you  mean  to  have 
your  supplies  at  this  point,  and  to  have  a battle  here,  he  will 
take  the  greatest  pains  that  the  battle  shall  be  not  where  your 
supplies  are,  hut  where  they  are  not , and  thus  all  the  plans  you 
may  make  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  case  are  upset,  by  that 
which  it  is  his  skill  to  make  the  most  favorable  to  himself,  and 
most  unfavorable  to  you.  And  when  you  understand  that  to 
these  difficulties  you  are  obliged  also  to  superadd  the  rawness 
of  our  forces,  and  the  rawness  of  our  officers  in  the  medical  de- 
partment, difficulties  for  which  nobody  is  to  blame,  but  which 
have  grown  out  of  the  mighty  blessings  of  a long-continued 
peace ; can  you  wonder  that  a Govei’nment,  the  most  gene- 
rous in  the  world,  in  its  efforts  to  meet  the  necessities  of  its 
sick  and  wounded  men,  a Government  which  feels  that  the 
people  demand  of  it  to  do  the  utmost  that  humanity  can 
prompt,  to  render  to  the  suffering  soldier  as  efficient  assist- 
ance as  circumstances  will  permit ; can  you  wonder  that  such 
a Government,  which  has  increased  its  expenses  from  500,000 
to  10,000,000  of  dollars,  for  the  benefit  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldier,  which  has  reinforced  the  medical  service  of 
the  country,  until  every  possible  man  that  could  be  spared 
from  medical  civil  life  is  now  in  the  army  ; which  by  its 
courts  of  inquiry,  has  sifted  the  medical  practice  of  most  of 
its  imbeciles  and  incompetents ; I say,  can  you  wonder  that 
such  a Government,  so  generous,  so  humane,  and  so  laborious, 
as  it  has  been  in  the  cause  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldier, 
has  yet  nevertheless  found  itself  continually  baffled,  continu- 
ally dependent  on  the  exterior  support  and  sympathy  of  the 


12 


public  ; on  having  its  industry  and  efforts  eked  out  and  sup- 
plemented by  the  benevolence  of  the  public  at  large  ? 

I know  there  is  a constant  wonder  on  the  part  of  the  public, 
that  this  great  Government,  with  all  its  forethought  and  with 
all  its  means,  has  been  compelled  to  depend  so  largely  and  so 
long  upon  the  benevolence  of  the  public. 

Again  and  again  I am  asked,  how  long  is  this  to  last? 
Why  does  the  Government  not  do  this  thing  and  that  thing? 
The  answer  is,  not  that  the  Government  does  not  know  its 
duty,  not  that  it  is  not  anxious  to  do  its  duty;  but  let  the 
Government  do  all  it  does  or  can  do,  you  cannot  have  800,000 
men  in  the  field,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  our  men 
are  in  the  field,  without  there  being  (even  after  all  that  public 
and  private  benevolence  combined  can  do),  a large  margin  of 
want  and  misery,  which  can  only  be  partially  alleviated.  I 
tell  you,  therefore,  on  the  responsibility  of  one  who  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances  has  been  studying  this 
matter  for  two  years,  you  need  not  fancy  there  can  be  by 
any  possibility,  any  stoppage  in  the  demand  upon  your  sym- 
pathy or  support,  so  long  as  this  war  lasts.  Every  loyal 
woman  in  this  country,  every  generous  merchant,  every  noble- 
minded  physician,  every  man  who  loves  humanity,  every  man 
who  loves  his  country  and  our  noble  cause,  has  got  to  put  by 
a certain  portion  of  his  time,  and  a certain  portion  of  his 
money  and  industry,  and  a large  portion  of  his  heart  and 
affections  and  sensibilities,  for  the  benefit  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers.  kTo  matter  how  generous  the  supplies,  no 
matter  what  amount  of  money  the  Government  may  spend, 
no  matter  how  earnest  and  active  and  generous  may  be  the 
labors  of  the  women  of  the  land,  there  will  still  remain  in 
force  that  Scriptural  maxim,  “ The  poor  ye  have  always  with 
you,” — the  sick  and  wounded  soldier  will  always  be  with 


13 


you ; and  after  all  the  Government  and  public  and  private 
benevolence  may  do,  your  hearts  will  be  torn  and  your 
di'eams  haunted  by  the  fact  that  there  still  remains  a large 
and  frightful  amount  of  unalleviated  disease  and  sorrow  and 
want.  Now,  I ask  you  to  discharge  from  this  moment  from 
your  minds  all  notions  to  the  contrary  of  this  statement, 
which  is  vouched  for  on  the  authority  of  a Commission  which 
has  been  now  nearly  two  years  studying  the  question.  But 
let  me  tell  you  that  all  that  private  or  social  benevolence  can 
do  for  the  army  in  the  field  is  invisibly  small,  compared  with 
that  which  the  Government  is  able  to  do,  being  in  possession 
of  all  the  lines  of  transportation  and  master  of  all  the  facili- 
ties, and  compelled  to  exclude  the  larger  portion  of  the  public 
from  the  actual  scene  of  Avar.  You  have  between  you  and 
the  soldiers  the  military  lines  which  you  cannot  pass ; the 
soldiers  are  principally  to  the  front,  out  of  your  immediate 
reach,  away  from  your  own  eyes  and  beyond  the  easy  reach 
of  any  comforts  you  may  send  them.  The  great  channel 
by  which  to  reach  them  must  be  the  Government  itself ; and 
let  me  tell  you,  that  to  sustain  the  Government  you  must  en- 
courage and  support  the  medical  force  of  the  army  itself. 
Everything  possible  should  be  done  to  make  the  medical  force 
strong  in  its  efficiency ; not  to  interfere  with  the  regulations 
adopted  by  the  army  surgeons,  but  in  every  way  to  sustain 
and  encourage  them  in  the  great  work  committed  to  their 
charge.  This  is  your  only  chance  of  being  very  useful  to 
the  soldier,  except  in  particular,  irregular,  and  exceptional 
cases.  You  must  not  suppose  that  because  in  this  loyal  city 
of  Philadelphia,  as  your  soldiers  come  and  return,  and  you 
have  them  under  your  eye,  you  can  take  care  of  them  here, 
that  any  similar  state  of  affairs  exists  near  the  scene  of  con- 
flict. There,  a different  state  of  things  arises.  The  suffering 


14 


of  the  army  is  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  in  the  actual  camp  or 
general  hospital.  The  general  hospital  must  be  for  the  most 
part  solely  under  the  eye  and  sympathy  of  the  United  States 
Army  Surgeons.  If  those  who  have  this  business  for  their 
official  duty  are  not  encouraged  and  sustained,  all  that  you 
can  do  in  irregular  ways  is  as  a drop  in  the  bucket.  Let  me 
say,  therefore,  and  I desire  to  say  it  in  correction  of  an  error 
which  I fear  prevails  largely,  that  notwithstanding  these 
natural  defects  which  proceed  from  the  want  of  official  train- 
ing, you  may  place  a general  reliance  in  the  personal  charac- 
ter, in  the  devotion  and  the  patriotism,  and  in  the  medical 
skill  of  the  surgeons  in  the  field.  There  has  been  a prevail- 
ing impression  that  these  medical  men,  to  a large  extent, 
have  been  the  riff-raff  of  the  profession  ; there  has  been  an 
extraordinary  notion,  that  although  they  have  been  culled 
out  of  Christian  society,  they  have  been  suddenly  converted 
as  by  a moral  contagion  into  barbarians  and  demons.  I sup- 
pose that  an  ordinary  percentage  of  imbecility  and  lack  of 
moral  principle  and  of  ignorance  of  medical  science,  prevails  in 
the  medical  profession,  in  the  army  and  among  the  volunteer 
surgeons,  as  it  prevails  in  every  class  of  society.  But,  I pre- 
sume to  say,  that  it  is  an  atrocious  libel,  that  as  a class,  the 
surgeons  are  not  a self-sacrificing,  earnest,  devoted  body  of 
men,  and  I may  add,  the  hardest  worked  class  of  men  con- 
nected with  our  army  service.  After  a very  general  ex- 
perience of  them,  I think  it  is  high  time  to  say,  that  the 
country  ought  to  have  a general  reliance,  confidence  and 
trust,  in  the  essential  worthiness,  devotion  and  admirable 
character  of  the  medical  staff  of  the  army  now  in  the  field. 

Let  them,  then,  be  sustained.  After  a while  they  will 
learn  the  rules,  regulations,  and  method.  They  found  at 
first,  that  the  army  regulations  were  a little  annoying. 


15 


They  went  into  the  field  with  a prejudice — not  unre turned — 
against  the  regular  officers ; but  they  began  to  see,  after  a 
while,  that  army  regulations  were  very  wholesome  things, — 
consisting,  indeed,  of  those  methods  and  rules  which  experi- 
ence has  proved  to  be  the  shortest  road  to  efficiency.  If 
anything  is  now  plain,  it  is  that  unless  you  have  method  and 
rule,  and  pretty  rigid  method  and  rule,  in  the  army,  you  can 
have  no  success. 

And  if  there  be  anything  that  volunteers  learn  in  the 
medical  or  other  service,  it  is,  after  a short  time,  an  increas- 
ing respect  for  army  regulations ; a desire  to  be  under 
officers  that  understand  these  regulations ; to  be  under  sur- 
geons who  are  familiar  with  all  those  minute  rules,  that  tie 
up  in  safety  and  security,  for  purposes  of  method,  order,  and 
success,  the  conditions  under  which  relief  is  to  be  supplied. 
I know  nothing  more  foolish  and  insane,  than  that  univer- 
sally popular  cry  against  “red  tape.”  Permit  me  to  say, 
that  in  the  army,  red  tape  is  as  essential  to  men,  as  white 
tape  at  home  is  to  women.  [Laughter.]  I need  not  say,  that 
it  is  an  equal  folly  to  attempt  to  do  without  the  one,  as  to  do 
without  the  other.  Instead  of  decrying  “ red  tape,”  all  my 
experience  has  taught  me  to  believe  that  the  principal  diffi- 
culties connected  with  the  humane  administration  of  army 
affairs,  are  due  to  the  neglect  of  “red  tape.”  If  you  could 
have  real  “red  tape,”  not  that  kind  painted  on  barbers’ 
poles,  which  ties  up  nothing;  if  you  could  only  have  real 
rule,  method,  and  habit  carried  out  to  the  death  even,  you 
would  have  the  surest  way  of  attaining  to  the  best  results  in 
military  affairs.  And  that  is  a matter  that  ought  to  be  more 
generally  understood  among  the  women  and  the  men  in  the 
land. 

The  women — God  bless  them ! — think  that  it  requires 


16 


nothing  but  a good  and  loving  heart  to  aid  the  poor  soldier. 
But  I can  assure  you,  that  however  ardent  and  warm  the 
heart,  its  pulsations,  to  be  effective,  must  be  regulated  by 
order  and  method. 

There  has  been  a general  sort  of  cry  in  the  newspapers, 
which  has  found  its  way  into  our  homes,  against  this  disci- 
pline of  which  I speak.  When  I first  went  into  this  business, 
I "was  under  the  influence  of  the  same  prejudices.  I thought 
I must  take  the  sharp  knife  of  criticism,  and  the  sword  of 
antagonism,  and  with  them  cut  loose  everything  that  pre- 
vented me  from  getting  at  the  sick  and  wounded  soldier. 
But  I found  it  was  best,  on  the  whole,  instead  of  doing  any- 
thing to  weaken  the  bonds  of  order,  and  the  regulations 
adopted  by  long  experience  in  all  wars,  for  the  guidance  and 
direction  of  military  affairs,  to  accept  the  order  and  method 
established  by  the  Government,  and  endeavor  to  work  in 
perfect  harmony  and  sympathy  with  them.  And  if  the  Sani- 
tary Commission  has  achieved  any  triumph  in  this  war,  it 
has  been  entirely  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  has  followed  the 
regulations  of  army  life;  that  it  has  endeavored  to  enter  into 
affectionate  and  friendly  relations  with  the  medical  body  in 
the  field ; to  do  all  its  work  under  the  sanction  of  the  Govern- 
ment itself;  to  aid  in  the  proper  carrying  out  of  the  regula- 
tions of  the  service;  and  to  respect  that  honest  jealousy  of 
all  outside  interference  and  supplementary  aid,  natural  to 
men  in  official  position;  that  wholesome  esprit  du  corps , 
which  confesses  no  weakness  or  defect, — a generous  senti- 
ment, and  one  which  every  man  ought  to  have  something  of, 
in  public  place.  All  that  has  been  conquered.  The  Sani- 
tary Commission,  looked  upon  at  first  with  some  want  of 
sympathy  at  Washington,  by  the  War  Department,  and  by 
the  generals  in  the  field, — for  I have  been  often  compelled 


17 


to  listen  unwittingly  to  army  men  talking  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission  as  a sentimental  body  of  persons,  really  only 
to  be  countenanced  because,  somehow  or  other,  they  had 
managed  to  get  the  affections  of  the  people, — is  now,  I am 
proud  to  say,  and  so  far  as  I know,  in  the  most  cordial  and 
perfect  relations  of  friendship  and  co-operation  with  the 
Medical  Department  of  the  United  States  Army,  with  the 
authorities  at  Washington,  and  with  all  the  generals  in  the 
field.  [Applause.] 

This  is  due  to  the  good  fortune  of  having,  from  the  start, 
adopted  the  true  method.  Therefore,  the  longer  we  labor, 
the  better  the  scheme  works ; the  more  harmonious  it  is ; 
the  more  entirely  it  finds  itself  adapted  to  do  the  work  which 
it  undertook  to  do.  And  let  me  say,  that  those  not  enjoying 
these  facilities,  naturally  looked  at  with  a kind  of  jealousy 
and  distance  by  generals  and  officers  in  the  field,  and  by  the 
Medical  Department  itself,  must  necessarily  work  under  con- 
stant disadvantages,  and  their  sources  of  usefulness  be  greatly 
impaired.  The  earnest  efforts  of  associations  of  noble  men 
and  women  all  over  the  Union,  seeking  to  do  good,  have  thus 
been  weakened.  Thank  God  that  they  exist ! May  His 
blessing  rest  upon  them  all ! It  is  a source  of  wonder,  that 
with  all  the  difficulties  necessarily  attendant  upon  their 
unsystematized  labors,  they  have  been  able  to  do  so  much ; 
that  such  excellent  results  have  accrued  from  their  labors. 

The  work  which  the  Sanitary  Commission  undertook,  is 
one  which  ought  not  to  excite  much  jealousy  among  other 
associations.  I will  describe  it  in  a few  words. 

The  work  was  twofold.  It  was  first  to  prevent  sickness  in 
the  army.  The  sympathies  of  the  public  are  with  the  sick 
and  wounded,  but  we  devoted  almost  our  exclusive  energies 
to  that  in  which  the  public  sympathies  are  not  greatly  en- 

2 


18 


listed,  namely,  in  efforts  to  enlighten  the  army, — to  enlighten 
the  quartermaster  and  the  commissary  and  the  soldier  in  the 
field  on  the  importance  of  taking  every  possible  means  of  pre- 
venting a waste  of  precious  life.  We  knew  that  a great  pro- 
portion of  the  waste  of  life  in  the  army  was  owing  to  igno- 
rance of  the  laws  of  health,  and  the  consequences  of  those 
particular  exposures  and  dangers  that  are  peculiar  to  an 
army  in  the  field.  How  should  officers  and  men  become 
acquainted  with  this  matter,  unless  they  had  given  special 
attention  to  the  subject?  We  went  to  work,  therefore,  at 
the  very  start  to  prevent  disease,  by  sending  into  the  army  a 
set  of  experts,  selected  from  the  very  best  medical  talent  in 
the  country,  and  paid  liberally  for  their  services.  For  be  it 
remembered,  that  they  were  taken  from  remunerative  posts 
in  private  life,  taken  from  families  dependent  on  their  care, 
and  from  spheres  of  large  private  practice.  We  trained  them 
to  this  special  duty,  and  sent  them  as  far  as  possible  into 
every  corps  of  the  army,  to  diffuse  a knowledge  of  camp  life, 
to  acquaint  the  men  with  the  proper  manner  of  managing 
everything  connected  with  the  peculiar  dangers  and  difficul- 
ties surrounding  soldiers  in  the  field.  In  order  to  accomplish 
the  end  desired,  this  matter  had  to  be  made  a subject  of  care- 
ful study.  The  Sanitary  Commission  undertook  to  prepare  a 
series  of  questions,  covering  every  point  that  can  be  named 
respecting  the  interests  of  the  soldier.  Three  hundred  ques- 
tions were  prepared,  which  these  persons  were  to  carry  into 
camp.  After  obtaining  leave  of  the  Major-General,  the 
Brigadier-General,  and  the  Colonel  of  each  regiment,  they 
went  to  every  officer  of  the  camp,  and  asked  him  every  possi- 
ble question  connected  with  the  welfare  of  his  men.  The 
object  in  asking  these  questions  was  in  a negative  manner  to 
convey  information,  to  convey  to  these  people  in  a manner 


» 


19 


inoffensive  to  themselves,  everything  in  regard  to  camp  life 
which  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  know.  Our  inspectors 
went  through  five  hundred  and  seventy  distinct  and  separate 
regiments,  and  many  of  them  twice  and  thrice  over,  besides 
special  inspections,  and  left  with  them  catalogues  and  publi- 
cations, to  the  extent  of  some  hundred  thousands,  and  thus 
,was  diffused  through  our  whole  army  much  valuable  informa- 
tion, which  has  no  doubt  in  a great  measure,  made  our  army, 
in  spite  of  all  the  diseases  that  have  raged  there,  the  healthiest 
army  in  effective  service  the  God  of  battles  ever  looked  down 
upon.  I will  give  you  the  chapter  and  the  verse.  At  no  time 
since  the  war  began,  has  the  average  mortality  been  more  than 
six  per  cent.  Well,  now,  in  the  Crimean  army,  the  mortality 
was  twenty-three  per  cent. ; in  the  army  on  the  Spanish  pen- 
insula under  Wellington,  the  mortality  was  sixteen  and  one- 
half  per  cent.  The  mortality  of  our  army  has  been  reduced 
by  influences  which  have  been  exerted,  God  knows  how,  we 
trust  in  some  degree  through  our  instrumentality,  to  six  per 
cent,  as  the  general  average  and  rule.  Whether  this  be  due 
to  the  beneficence  of  the  Government,  or  to  the  admirable 
arrangement  of  the  commissariat,  to  the  abundance  of  clothing 
with  which  our  soldiers  have  been  blessed,  to  a greater  degree 
than  any  other  soldiers  in  the  world,  or  whether,  perhaps, 
it  is  owing  to  the  versatile  and  self-protecting  character  of 
the  American  people,  or  to  the  favorableness  of  the  climate, 
or  to  the  painstaking  efforts  which  have  been  used  by  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  to  disseminate  widely  the  most  reliable 
information  through  the  whole  army,  is  not  for  me  definitely 
to  say ; but  by  the  blessing  of  God,  all  these  means  having 
been  used,  our  army,  now  near  the  end  of  its  second  year,  is 
the  healthiest  army  by  far  that  ever  has  been  in  the  field. 

In  making  our  inspections,  a large  mass  of  statistics  has 


20 


been  collected,  which  are  now  in  our  archives  at  Washington, 
throwing  light  upon  questions  of  great  interest,  which  will  go 
far  to  settle  many  points  which,  after  the  war  is  over,  the 
socialist  may  raise,  or  the  statesman,  in  regard  to  the  conduct 
of  the  war. 

These  facts  have  been  acknowledged  by  scientific  men  in 
Europe.  It  has  been  confessed  in  the  London  Times , which 
never  speaks  any  good  of  us  if  it  can  help  it,  that  we  have 
achieved  in  this  respect,  a work  never  before  undertaken.  We 
sent  into  the  army,  before  there  was  a single  sick  man  in  it, 
a body  of  men  (the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission), 
whose  duty  it  was  to  inquire  and  advise  as  to  everything 
necessary  for  the  health  of  the  army  about  to  enter  the  field. 
We  did  not  wait,  as  other  governments  wait,  until  the  horse 
had  been  stolen,  before  we  locked  the  stable-door.  We  did 
not  appoint  a Commission,  after  a year  of  ravage,  to  find 
out  how  so  many  lives  had  been  thrown  away ; but,  with  a 
spirit  characteristic  of  American  forethought,  we  selected  a 
body  of  men  at  the  start,  before  a single  life  was  exposed,  to 
suggest  the  means  of  preventing  any  needless  waste  of 
human  life  during  the  war. 

How,  to  turn  to  that  which  is  most  important  to  you, — the 
means  of  healing  our  sick  and  wounded.  When  this  war 
broke  out,  nobody  could  have  failed  to  anticipate  a magnifi- 
cent uprising  of  the  sympathies  of  the  whole  people  towards 
the  soldiers  in  the  field.  We  asked  ourselves, — What  can 
we  do  to  help  the  Government  take  care  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  men?  We  foresaw  that  there  would  be  a rush  of 
philanthropic  men  and  women  to  the  hospitals  and  to  the 
field.  It  occurred  to  us  then,  at  the  outset,  that  it  was 
important  to  organize  the  spontaneous  beneficence  of  the 
country;  to  weave  it  together,  and  make  it  in  the  end  work 


21 


like  well-regulated  machinery, — doing  the  greatest  possible 
good,  with  the  least  amount  of  embarrassment  to  the  authori- 
ties. We  proceeded  therefore  to  organize  this  beneficence, 
that  its  results  might  be  regularly,  economically,  wisely,  and 
kindly  utilized  for  the  good  of  all. 

While  disloyalty  and  rebellion  were  tearing  the  States  in 
pieces,  and  the  disintegrating  processes  of  secession  were 
going  on,  we  endeavored  to  concentrate  the  benevolent  senti- 
ments of  loyal  men.  We  knew  that  something  must  be  done 
to  unite  the  whole  heart  and  industry  of  this  people  in  a 
common  work ; to  persuade  them  to  lay  aside  their  local  and 
municipal  pride, — sentiments  which,  in  times  of  peace,  right- 
fully prevail ; but  in  a time  like  this,  when  the  national  idea 
was  growing  weak,  under  the  distracting  influences  which 
unfortunate  political  events  had  introduced  into  the  country, 
we  thought  we  might  be  an  humble  means,  through  the  asso- 
ciated sympathies  and  systematized  benevolence  of  all  parts 
of  the  loyal  States,  in  assisting  the  National  Government  in 
sewing  up  the  wounds  of  the  country.  It  was  all-important 
to  render  this  Federal  idea  operative  on  the  beneficence  of 
the  country,  so  that  we  could  counteract  those  secession 
influences  which  were  rending  asunder  that  which  God  had 
originally  joined. 

I confess  that  almost  the  only  discouragement  attendant 
upon  our  work  has  been  some  inability  on  the  part  of  the 
public  to  enter  fully  into  that  lofty  idea.  We  all  have  our 
municipal  pride.  We  all  have  a love  for  our  individual 
States ; and  to  overcome  this  love  to  some  extent,  for  the 
time,  in  favor  of  a broader  affection,  was  a part  of  our  mis- 
sion. In  ordinary  times,  it  is  well  to  trim  the  lamp  of 
domestic  affection;  to  feed  the  fire  of  municipal  pride;  to 
tend  the  larger  altar  of  State  rights.  But  at  a time 


22 


like  this,  we  ought  to  bring  every  particle  of  patriotic 
fuel  we  can,  to  make  that  central  flame  which  our  fathers 
kindled  on  the  Federal  altar,  burn  brighter,  so  that  the  nations 
of  the  world,  who  are  watching  with  jealous  eyes  from  every 
headland  of  Europe  to  see  its  glory  eclipsed,  may  find  it 
surging  up  with  a double  splendor,  and  shedding  an  immortal 
radiance  upon  the  whole  horizon  of  humanity. 

Now,  in  regard  to  the  supplies  we  have  received  from  the 
country.  I will  not  go  into  very  great  length  about  that 
matter  at  the  present  time.  We  know  that  in  Philadelphia 
you  have  been  doing  as  much  as  any  city  in  the  country, 
for  the  sick  and  wmunded  soldier.  We  do  not  wish  you  to 
abstract  one  particle  of  your  industry  nor  one  moment  of 
the  time  which  you  have  given  to  the  soldiers,  from  those  to 
whom  you  already  stand  pledged.  I am  not  here  to  depreciate 
or  underrate  any  service  in  which  you  have  been  thus  far  so 
nobly  engaged.  As  for  me,  I know  no  State  soldier ; I know 
no  Philadelphia  soldier;  no  Pennsylvania  soldier.  I know 
only  the  Federal,  Union,  National  soldier.  [Applause.] 

You  have  more  than  200,000  noble  Pennsylvania  soldiers 
in  the  field;  and  I was  glad  to  hear  from  the  lips  of  your 
Governor,  last  night,  that  you  have  150,000  more  just  such, 
ready  to  take  the  field,  when  wanted. 

These  soldiers,  until  they  got  into  the  field,  were  Pennsyl- 
vania soldiers ; and  so  long  as  they  were  in  Pennsylvania 
camps,  and  so  long  As  they  were  near  home,  they  were  within 
reach  of  your  local  associations.  You  could  send  your  agents 
among  them,  who  could  administer  to  their  every  want.  But 
you  should  recollect,  that  after  a soldier  gets  into  the  gene- 
ral field,  he  is  not  a Pennsylvania  soldier;  he  is  a National 
soldier.  And  when  he  is  sick  and  wounded,  he  is  not  under 
the  control  of  Pennsylvania  officers,  nor  is  he  within  reach 


23 


of  Pennsylvania  nurses.  He  is  not  in  the  Pennsylvania  hos- 
pital; he  is  in  the  Federal  hospital.  You  do  not  know  where 
he  is.  Your  Governor  does  not  know  where  he  is.  The 
colonel  of  his  regiment  does  not  know  where  he  is. 

When  the  soldier  falls,  he  is  taken  to  the  rear,  and  sent  to 
the  most  convenient  hospital.  How'  are  the  sick  and  wounded 
of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  to  he  taken  care  of?  Only 
by  an  association  which  claims  in  some  sense  to  be  omnipre- 
sent ; which,  with  its  supplemental  supplies,  undertakes, — 
according  to  some  proportion  of  the  supplies  furnished  it  by 
the  community  at  large, — to  meet  the  necessities  of  every 
soldier,  no  matter  whether  he  comes  from  Pennsylvania, 
Michigan,  Iowa,  or  any  other  State  in  the  Union. 

Your  agent  may  be  sent  into  the  hospitals,  we  may  say  in 
Washington,  in  search  of  a Pennsylvania  soldier.  He  comes 
across  a soldier  in  the  ward,  and  inquires,  “ Are  you  a Penn- 
sylvania man?”  “No,  I am  not  a Pennsylvania  man,  but  I 
am  a sick  man.”  “Well,  somebody  will  take  care  of  you, 
but  I want  to  find  a Pennsylvania  man.”  “ Well,”  says  the 
poor  soldier,  “ there  is  a Pennsylvania  man  over  in  the 
corner.”  The  agent  then  addresses  him,  “Are  you  a Penn- 
sylvania man?”  “Yes.”  “Well,  here  are  some  things  I 
have  brought  you.”  He  takes  them,  and  as  the  agent  is 
about  to  walk  away,  the  sick  hero  says,  “ Here  is  a good 
friend  of  mine  in  this  next  bed,  with  whom  I have  had  much 
comforting  chat;  can’t  you  do  something  for  him?”  If  the 
agent  says  No,  it  is  very  likely  the  Pennsylvania  man  refuses 
to  accept  the  good  things  that  are  brought  him.  The  object 
of  the  Sanitary  Commission  is  to  make  every  soldier  feel  that 
he  has  an  equal  share  in  the  bounty  with  which  this  nation 
supplies  its  soldiers.  If  you  should  look  into  this  question 
thoroughly,  you  would  find  that  while  the  work  in  neighbor- 


24 


lioods  where  soldiers  are  stationed,  may  require  State  asso- 
ciations and  private  enterprise,  there  is  still  a great  and 
immense  field  of  Federal  and  National  work,  which  can  only 
be  done  by  a Federal  and  National  association.  Therefore, 
without  asking,  you  to  diminish  your  sympathies  directed 
under  the  auspices  of  local  associations,  I do  demand  of  you, 
not  as  Pennsylvanians,  but  as  Americans,  in  the  name  of  the 
Federal  soldier,  that  you  appropriate  a certain  portion  of 
your  benevolence  to  a purely  National  and  Federal  work.  I 
am  sure  the  mere  statement  of  the  question  is  its  argument, 
and  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  debate  the  question  a mo- 
ment longer. 

In  regard  to  special  relief,  let  me  say  that  during  the  past 
month,  five  or  six  thousand  men  from  one  hospital  (Light 
House  Point),  have  been  discharged.  The  Government  has 
decided  that  under  law,  it  cannot  take  charge  of  discharged 
soldiers.  They  accordingly  often  find  themselves  without  the 
means  of  transportation.  A discharged  soldier  is  in  the  city 
of  Washington,  anxious  to  go  to  his  home,  and  what  does  he 
do  ? Does  he  look  for  his  State  agent  ? If  he  does,  he  is 
probably  told  to  go  to  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  we  must 
in  the  end  send  him  safely  to  his  home.  The  Commission 
has  six  or  seven  lodges  in  the  City  of  Washington,  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  these  men.  At  the  Paymaster’s  office, 
there  is  a particular  lodge  to  receive  the  soldier  waiting  to 
receive  his  pay.  Here  we  have  beds  where  the  soldier  can 
remain  until  he  reaches  his  turn  on  the  pay-roll.  For  a 
month  past,  we  have  had  five  hundred  and  fifty  men  per  night 
to  take  care  of,  and  supplied  eighteen  hundred  meals  every  day 
to  these  discharged  soldiers.  We  have  made  arrangements 
with  all  the  railroad  companies  to  take  these  men  home  at 
Government  fare.  Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Felton, 


President  of  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and  Baltimore 
Railroad,  we  are  now  having  cars  constructed,  in  which 
stretchers  can  he  hung,  so  that  the  wounded  soldier  lying 
thereon,  can  be  carried  safely  from  Washington  to  New  York, 
without  any  jarring  to  his  shattered  frame. 

I thank  you  for  the  very  kind  attention  you  have  given 
me,  and  take  my  leave  with  the  cordial  hope  and  confidence, 
that  this  community  will  add  to  all  the  other  blessed  things 
which  it  has  done  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldier,  this  other 
thing.  I appeal  to  the  noble  clergy  of  this  city,  and  shall 
be  glad  to  have  the  co-operation  of  the  patriotic  women  of 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  I would  suggest  a meeting  of  the 
clergy  at  an  early  day.  Let  each  of  them  bring  one  or  two 
competent  women,  in  order  that  the  benevolent  feeling  which 
has  been  manifested  at  this  meeting,  may  be  turned  to 
practical  account.  I know  that  the  women  of  Philadelphia 
do  not  mean  to  be  one  step  behind  the  women  of  the  other 
cities  of  the  country.  You  will  have  the  sympathy  and  en- 
couragement of  your  Governor,  your  Mayor,  the  clergy,  and 
the  leading  citizens,  in  undertaking  this  important  work. 
We  must  have  our  storehouses  filled  up  again  and  again,  and 
I am  sure  I misread  these  generous  and  humane  Federal 
countenances,  which  I see  before  me,  if  I am  mistaken  in  an- 
ticipating that  henceforth,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  the 
Sanitary  Commission  will  not  only  have  the  cordial  support 
of  its  citizens,  and  the  countenance  of  the  clergy,  but  that 
the  nimble  fingers  of  the  women  of  the  city  will  devote  a 
certain  portion  of  the  day  in  filling  up  the  indispensable  re- 
quirements, caused  by  the  presence  of  so  vast  a force  in  the 
field,  subject  to  all  the  uncertainties,  disappointments,  and 
embarrassments  of  the  Government  service  in  a time  of  ac- 
tive campaigning. 


26 


I cannot  close  these  observations  without  calling  your 
attention  for  a moment,  to  the  recollection  of  one  whose 
memory  is  sacredly  honored  in  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and 
will  be  found  inscribed  conspicuously  on  the  roll  of  a nation’s 
gratitude,  when  the  records  of  the  war  are  made  up.  I refer 
to  the  late  Mr.  William  Platt,  who  may  truly  he  called  a 
martyr  to  his  patriotic  zeal  and  earnest  humanity.  Carried 
beyond  his  strength,  by  his  passionate  devotion  to  the  wants 
of  our  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  he  fell  stricken  by  disease 
contracted  on  the  battle-field,  where  he  went  as  a minister  of 
mercy.  No  soldier  falling  by  the  bullet  of  the  enemy  was  more 
a victim  of  patriotic  courage  and  zeal  than  he.  This  community 
marked  his  modest,  yet  unweariable  services,  too  well  to  need 
any  eulogy  upon  his  work  from  me.  His  associates  here, 
whose  hand  he  so  long  was,  have  testified  in  every  form  their 
respect  for  his  memory,  and  their  sorrow  for  his  untimely 
loss.  It  is  not  for  a stranger  to  his  person,  as  I was,  to  strew 
any  fresh  flowers  upon  his  recent  grave ; but  I should  do  in- 
justice to  the  Sanitary  Commission,  if  I did  not  take  this 
public  occasion  to  utter,  in  this,  his  own  city,  and  among 
these,  his  own  friends,  these  few  feeble  words  of  tribute  to  so 
faithful  a servant  of  our  cause,  and  so  lamented  a philan- 
thropist and  patriot.  Peace  to  the  ashes  of  William  Platt ! 
“ Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.” 


After  the  close  of  Dr.  Bellows’s  speech,  the  Rev.  John  Walker 
Jackson,  by  invitation  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  addressed 
the  audience  in  words  of  ardent  and  most  patriotic  encouragement, 
which  were  earnestly  applauded. 

The  orchestra  then  played  the  National  Hymn,  and  the  whole 
audience  joined  in  singing  the  chorus,  with  the  most  intense  enthu- 
siasm, and  the  large  assemblage  then  retired. 


APPENDIX 


It  has  been  thought  advisable  to  annex  certain  statistical  informa- 
tion to  the  report  of  Dr.  Bellows’s  speech,  in  order  that  an  outline 
of  the  character  of  the  work  of  the  Commission,  and  its  vast  extent, 
may  be  exhibited  by  figures. 

I.  Supplies. 

From  July,  1861,  to  October,  1862,  it  has  distributed, — 

Articles  of  clothing,  ....  745,091 

Other  articles,  food,  stimulants,  and  various  appli- 
ances for  the  comfort  of  the  soldier,  about  . 100,000 

815,091 

II.  Receipts  in  Money. 

The  whole  amount  received  to  March  1,  1863,  . $680,837  16 

The  following  table  shows  the  sources  from  which  this  sum  was 
derived. 

Total  amount  of  donations  received  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Commission,  to  March  1,  1863,  and  the  sources  from  which 


they  came. 

New  York,  ......  $89,046  67 

People  of  New  England,  ....  6,683  75 

Maine,  ......  14,324  43 

New  Hampshire,  .....  621  90 

Vermont,  ......  1,890  81 

Massachusetts,  .....  44,131  57 

Rhode  Island,  .....  7,558  30 

Connecticut,  ......  2,588  35 

New  Jersey,  ......  2,356  74 

Pennsylvania,*  ......  10,716  39 

Delaware,  . . . . . . 10  00 

Maryland,  ......  15  00 


* This  does  not  include  the  whole  amount  of  money  received  by  the  Philadel- 
phia Associates.  The  contributions  at  the  Agency  were  $56,580,  a large  portion 
of  which  was  expended  by  the  Associates  for  supplies  under  the  orders  of  the 
Central  Commission. 


28 


Washington,  D.  C.,  . 

$4,545 

83 

Ohio,  .... 

2,200 

00 

Indiana,  .... 

500 

00 

Illinois,  .... 

500 

00 

Michigan, 

516 

00 

Minnesota, 

25 

00 

California, 

. 449,453 

80 

Oregon, 

23,005 

34  ' 

Nevada  Territory, 

4,000 

00 

Washington  Territory, 

4,520 

77 

Vancouver’s  Island, 

1,325 

20 

Honolulu, 

3,585 

00 

Canada  (Toronto), 

439 

48 

England, 

1,100 

00 

France  (Paris), 

2,400 

00 

Unknown  sources, 

2,776 

83 

$680,837  16 


A considerable  portion  of  the  above  sum  of  $680,837  16,  of 
course,  has  been  expended  in  the  pui'chase  of  such  supplies  as  could 
not  be  provided  by  the  homes  of  the  land,  but  nearly  all  the  clothing, 
material  and  workmanship,  has  been  the  freewill  offering  of  the 
loyal  women  of  the  country. 

III.  Inspections  of  Camps. 

Between  July,  1861,  and  October;  1862,  the  whole  number  of 
camp  inspections  made  with  a view  of  ascertaining  their  sanitary 
condition,  by  the  agents  of  the  Commission,  was  1060.  These  1060 
inspections  represent  570  distinct  regiments  or  bodies  of  troops. 

The  importance  of  this  department,  and  the  admirable  results 
which  have  flowed  from  its  thorough  and  efficient  management,  are 
pointed  out  in  the  foregoing  speech. 

IV.  Inspections  of  General  Hospitals. 

This  subject  has  received  the  earnest  attention  of  the  officers  of 
the  Commission,  and  they  have  employed  fifteen  surgeons  of  emi- 
nence, who  have  made  a thorough  investigation  of  the  condition  of 
the  hospitals  at  Washington,  Baltimore,  Annapolis,  Frederick,  Cin- 
cinnati, Louisville,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  The  vast  im- 
provement observable  of  late  in  all  our  military  hospitals,  is  due  to 


29 


the  intelligent  measures  adopted  by  the  present  able  Surgeon-General, 
which  were  based  in  no  small  degree  upon  the  reports  of  these  In- 
spectors of  the  Commission. 

V.  Agents  with  the  Armies  in  the  Field. 

To  carry  out  fully  the  National  idea  of  the  Commission,  each  army, 
wherever  stationed,  has  been  attended  by  a permanent  staff,  repre- 
senting the  benevolence  of  the  country  as  distributed  through  the 
agency  of  the  Commission. 

In  each  army  this  staff  is  composed  of  a principal  inspector,  as- 
sisted by  an  adequate  force  of  relief  agents.  These  gentlemen  form 
part  of  the  permanent  organization  of  the  army  • the  supplies  are 
under  their  control,  and  the  zeal,  efficiency,  and  devotion  which  charac- 
terize them  in  the  performance  of  their  duties,  and  the  vast  benefit 
which  has  resulted  from  their  systematic  and  judicious  distribution 
of  the  supplies  in  cases  of  emergency,  are  vouched  for  by  the  reports 
of  all  the  officers  of  the  army,  medical  and  military,  who  have  been 
eye-witnesses  of  their  labors. 

Here  is  General  Rosecrans’s  late  order  on  the  subject  of  the  Com- 
mission : 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Cumberland, 

Murfreesboro,  February  2,  1863. 

The  General  commanding  presents  his  warmest  acknowledg- 
ments to  the  friends  of  the  soldiers  of  this  army,  whose  generous 
sympathy  with  the  suffering  of  the  sick  and  wounded  has  induced 
them  to  send  for  their  comfort  numerous  sanitary  supplies,  which 
are  continually  arriving  by  the  hands  of  individuals  and  charitable 
Societies.  While  he  highly  appreciates  and  does  not  undervalue 
the  charities  which  have  been  lavished  on  this  army,  experience 
has  demonstrated  the  importance  of  system  and  impartiality,  as  well 
as  judgment  and  economy,  in  the  forwarding  and  distribution  of 
these  supplies.  In  all  these  respects  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission  stands  unrivalled.  Its  organization,  experience,  and 
large  facilities  for  the  work  are  such  that  the  General  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  recommend,  in  the  most  urgent  manner,  all  those  who  desire 
to  send  sanitary  supplies  to  confide  them  to  the  care  of  this  Com- 
mission. 

They  will  thus  insure  the  supplies  reaching  their  destination  with- 
out wastage,  or  expense  of  agents  or  transportation,  and  their  being 
distributed  in  a judicious  manner  without  disorder  or  interference 
with  the  regulations  and  usages  of  the  service. 


30 


This  Commission  acts  in  full  concert  with  the  Medical  Department 
of  the  army,  and  enjoys  its  confidence.  It  is  thus  enabled,  with  a 
few  agents,  to  do  a large  amount  of  good  at  the  proper  time,  and  in 
the  proper  way.  Since  the  battle  of  Stone's  River,  it  has  distributed 
a surprisingly  large  amount  of  clothing,  liut,  bandages,  and  bedding, 
as  well  as  milk,  concentrated  beef,  fruit,  and  other  sanitary  stores, 
essential  to  the  recovery  of  the  sick  and  wounded. 

W.  S.  Rosecrans, 

Major-General  Commanding  Department. 

Among  the  many  testimonials  to  the  value  of  the  system  adopted 
by  the  Commission  in  carrying  out  its  work  in  the  army,  we  select 
that  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

This  highly  respectable  body,  representing  a numerous  and  most 
influential  denomination  of  Christians  in  all  parts  of  the  North  and 
West,  adopted,  at  its  meeting  in  Cincinnati  in  May  last,  the  following 
resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Assembly  earnestly  recommend  to  all  our  Pres- 
byteries and  Churches,  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission  as 
the  very  best  channel  through  which  to  reach  the  sick  and  wounded 
of  the  army.  It  is  thoroughly  organized,  possessed  of  all  needful 
facts,  and  is  now  acting  with  that  system  and  economy  which  only 
an  enlarged  experience  can  secure. 

YI.  Special  Relief  at  Washington. 

This  department  may  be  divided  into  the  following  branches : 

1.  The  Hospital  Directory , or  complete  list  of  the  inmates  of  the 
military  hospitals  in  the  Washington  District.  By  means  of  this 
directory  the  actual  position  and  condition  of  any  sick  or  wounded 
soldier  may  be  readily  ascertained.  Arrangements  are  being  per- 
fected to  introduce  this  directory  system  at  all  points,  East  and  West, 
where  there  are  large  hospitals.  The  advertisement  of  the  Directory 
Department  will  be  found  on  the  third  and  fourth  pages  of  cover. 

2.  The  Soldier' s Home  at  Washington , intended  for  the  relief  of 
those  soldiers  passing  through  that  city,  who  become  separated  from 
their  regiments,  but  who  are  not  ill  enough  to  go  into  the  hospital. 
A night’s  lodging  and  a few  meals  have  refreshed  and  cheered  more 
than  eight  thousand  five  hundred  soldiers  at  this  Home. 

3.  Help  of  various  hinds  to  discharged  Soldiers.  In.  his  weakened 
state  the  discharged  soldier  is  little  able  to  go  through  the  formali- 


31 


ties  and  delays  incident  to  getting  his  pay,  and  he  is  liable  to  be  im- 
posed upon  by  sharpers,  who  seek  to  appropriate  to  themselves 
the  larger  portion  of  his  hard-earned  pittance.  With  the  cordial 
concurrence  of  the  officers  of  the  Government,  lodges  have  been  es- 
tablished by  the  Commission,  near  the  Pay  Office,  where  the  feeble 
soldier  may  rest  while  waiting  his  turn,  and  he  there  receives  such 
advice  and  assistance  as  may  enable  him  to  procure  the  pay  due  him 
with  the  least  possible  delay. 

4.  An  Agency  for  the  collection  of  any  Bounty , Pension  or  Back 
Pay  due  the  Soldier.  The  importance  of  this  department  of  relief  is 
obvious,  and  it  is  increasing  every  day.  Claims  of  this  kind  should 
be  in  the  hands  of  prompt,  efficient,  and  above  all,  honest  agents. 
The  Commission  undertakes  this  as  one  of  its  special  works  of  mercy, 
and  there  is  none  of  greater  practical  value. 

5.  The  Through-ticket  System.  Arrangements  have  been  made 
by  the  Commission,  by  which  tickets  on  all  the1  principal  railroads, 
are  sold  to  tlj,e  soldier  at  a reduced  price,  conveying  him  from  his 
point  of  departure  to  the  point  nearest  his  home.  This  enables  him 
to  reach  home  speedily,  and  without  the  necessity  of  exhibiting  his 
money  at  the  various  stations,  and  is  thus  a means  of  guarding  him 
against  temptation  or  robbery  on  the  road. 

Hospital  Cars,  properly  fitted  up,  have  been  placed  by  the  Com- 
mission on  some  of  the  roads,  by  which  the  wounded  soldier  is  con- 
veyed to  distant  hospitals  with  a proper  regard  to  his  comfort  and 
the  dictates  of  humanity. 

The  Philadelphia  Agency  of  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission. 

This  Agency  has  been  recently  reorganized,  with  a view  of  ren- 
dering it  more  efficient.  The  Supply  Department  has  been  trans- 
ferred to  an*  Association,  called  “The  Women’s  Pennsylvania 
Branch  of  United  States  Sanitary  Commission.”  This  Association 
proposes  to  establish  auxiliary  societies  in  the  various  churches  of 
the  city,  and  in  the  towns  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  and  in  New 
Jersey,  who  shall  send  to  them  their  contributions  of  clothing  and 
other  necessaries  for  distribution  by  the  Commission.  The  plan  is 
fully  laid  down  in  the  following  extract  from  a letter  from  Dr. 
Bellows : 

“ Whatever  you  may  hitherto  have  been  doing,  from  this  time  con- 


32 


sider  how  you  can  best  and  most  surely  reach  the  suffering  soldier, 
where  he  is  most  exposed  and  most  forgotten.  Organize  a circle  in 
your  church,  your  village,  your  town.  Draw  in  as  many  loyal  women 
as  you  can.  Make  up  weekly  a small  (or  a large)  bundle  or  box, 
and  forward  it  to  the  Philadelphia  Women’s  Auxiliary  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission,  1307  Chestnut  Street,  where  it  will  speedily  find 
its  way  to  Washington  or  to  Louisville,  and  be  distributed,  in  the 
shortest  possible  time,  to  those  who  need  it  most.  Do  not  delay,  and 
do  not  abandon  your  efforts  after  a short  time.  You  must  enlist  in 
the  work  for  the  war.  It  is  the  women’s  part  in  the  patriotic  strug- 
gle we  are  in.  As  long  as  the  men  fight,  the  women  must  knit  and 
sew,  and  the  friends  at  home  furnish  means  to  alleviate  the  sorrows 
and  wants  of  the  camps  and  hospitals.” 

Letters  or  boxes  intended  for  the  Association  should  be  addressed 
to  Mrs.  Bloomfield  H.  Moore,  Corresponding  Secretary,  No.  1307 
Chestnut  Street. 

The  business  of  the  Philadelphia  Agency  will  hereafter  be  trans- 
acted in  the  same  building,  No.  1307  Chestnut  Street  (up  stairs). 
Among  other  things  it  will  have  in  special  charge, — 

1.  The  Hospital  Directory , containing  the  names  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers  in  all  the  military  hospitals  of  this  District.  The 
list  is  corrected  daily,  and  information  in  regard  to  any  soldier  will 
be  furnished  on  application  to  the  Superintendent. 

2.  Special  Relief  to  discharged  soldiers.  This  will  be  afforded  by 
this  Agency  under  the  same  conditions  as  it  is  dispensed  in  Wash- 
ington. 

3.  It  is  in  contemplation  to  establish  here,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Commission,  an  Agency  for  the  collection  of  the  dues  of  the 
soldier,  such  as  exists  in  Washington.  The  arrangements  for  that 
purpose  are  as  yet  incomplete. 

All  letters  upon  the  general  business  of  the  Commission  here,  or 
of  its  Philadelphia  Associates,  should  be  addressed  to  Horace  Binney, 
Jr.,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  No.  227  South 
Sixth  Street.  Letters  upon  the  special  departments  of  the  Agency 
should  be  addressed  to  R.  M.  Lewis,  Esq.,  General  Superintendent, 
No.  1307  Chestnut  Street. 

Remittances  to  the  treasury  of  the  Philadelphia  Associates,  should 
be  made  to  Caleb  Cope,  Esq.,  Treasurer,  northeast  corner  of  Sixth 
and  Minor  Streets,  Philadelphia. 


Date  Due 


Form  335— 40M— 6-39— S 

973,795  33448V 


363714 


